Young women would ditch dating for driving

More than half of young female drivers prefer spending money on road trips than romance

Young drivers are making big sacrifices to cover the costs of motoring with research showing 51% of female drivers, aged 17-25, confessing they’d rather ditch their quest for love than their cars.

With the average annual cost of motoring at £3,435 it’s no surprise that something’s got to give and according to the research, carried out by Morar on behalf of Admiral, love is not the only sacrifice being made. The majority of young drivers would give up fashion (69%), music festivals (60%) and socialising with friends (60%) in order to stay mobile.

Even summer holidays hang in the balance as 46% said keeping their car is preferable to spending money on travelling.

The top five things young drivers would give up to stay on the road:

Women

Men

All

New clothes

70%

68%

69%

Socialising

64%

53%

60%

Music, gigs and festivals

64%

54%

60%

Holidays

49%

42%

46%

Tech, phones and gadgets

49%

37%

44%

Head of Car Access at Admiral, Jean-Baptiste Limare, said: “Young drivers are so determined to stay on the road they are willing to sacrifice fashion, fun and festivals in order to keep up with the costs. In fact, it’s even ‘road over romance’ for more than half of young female drivers.

“While we can’t escape the fact that motoring costs are high for young drivers, it doesn’t have to be the summer of sacrifice. There are less drastic measures the under 25s can take to keep the cost of motoring down. Research is ‘key’ from the time you buy your first car right through to when you choose your insurance provider and your policy. This can save you hundreds of pounds which could go towards date nights or even a music festival with your friends.”

How can young drivers save money on their car?

Although motoring costs are always likely to be higher for younger drivers, Admiral offers six tips to keep those costs down this summer: Top tips for young drivers to avoid the summer of sacrifice:

1. If you have your own car, save money on fuel and road tax by choosing a car with lower fuel consumption and vehicle emissions.

2. Check which insurance group the car is in before you buy it; this can have a huge impact on insurance costs. Admiral has a guide to the top 10 cheapest cars to insure for drivers under 25. Also avoid modifying your car as this can increase premiums.

3. Pay for your insurance annually. With annual premiums often over £1,000, the obvious choice is to pay in monthly instalments. However, this can sometimes work out more expensive. If you have the money, consider paying upfront – it will be cheaper in the long run as monthly payments are often higher due to the APR.

4. Increase your excess. A higher excess can reduce your premiums, but you could be left out of pocket if you do have to make a claim so make sure you can afford to pay the excess should the worst happen.

5. Consider black box insurance such as Admiral LittleBox. The technology monitors your driving, so your insurer can set a premium based on how you drive and not how your peer group drives, meaning you could get a discount on your insurance policy.

6. If you only need to use a car from time to time, consider using car sharing insurance which covers you to drive a friend or family member’s car from as little as £3 for an hour and up to 30 days.

More young drivers choose car sharing

According to new Admiral data, more and more young drivers who don’t need permanent access to a car are opting to add themselves as a temporary driver to family motor policies in a bid to keep motoring costs down.

The data shows that in 2015 around 54,600 under 25s added themselves as temporary drivers to Admiral motor policies. By 2016, that number had risen to 58,000 with July and August being the most popular months to car share. Temporary drivers can be added to existing car insurance policies - for example to mum or dad’s car policy - but drivers also have the option of Car Sharing Insurance which provides cover for one hour and up to 30 days and is not restricted to family; young drivers can use the policy to insure themselves on friend’s family or colleague’s cars plus you don’t need to be an existing Admiral policyholder.

Jean-Baptiste continued: “The under 25s are the generation of the sharing economy and often seek alternatives to car ownership. We’re seeing a trend in young drivers turning to the ‘motor of mum and dad’ being added as temporary drivers on their policies.

“But young drivers are also taking advantage of Car Sharing Insurance. For example, students who don’t need a car during term-time but need access to one during the holidays, can get cover to drive someone else’s car whether friend, colleague or otherwise affording them the freedom to get around without the price tag of all year-round motoring.”

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